Division of Community Property & Liabilities
There are numerous factors which need to be considered when determining how property should be divided at the time of divorce. Your lawyer should be familiar with these factors in order to ensure that nothing is overlooked.
Under Texas law, property is to be divided in a “just and right manner” at the time of divorce. A “just and right” division of property is based on various factors. The most common factors include the earning capacity of the spouses, the education and employability of the spouses, the size of separate estates of the spouses, and the health and age of the spouses. For example, if one spouse is earning twice the amount compared to the other spouse, the lower-earning spouse may receive more than 50 percent of the parties’ community property. Similarly, if one spouse is less educated than the other spouse or if one spouse has been out of the workforce during the marriage, the less educated spouse or the spouse without recent work experience may receive more than 50 percent of the community property.
In some cases, a spouse may be eligible to receive spousal maintenance, also known as “alimony”, which would also be considered in determining the amount of community property received by each spouse.